A month in the life of a southern Ohio Buckeye Firearms Association volunteer Leader

By Rick Jones

Seems it all started out when Senator Obama was made the nominee for President by the National Democratic Party. After hearing this I decided I needed to do something to PREVENT Mr. Obama from being elected President.

I’ve already been the assigned National Rifle Association Election Volunteer Coordinator (EVC) for the Ohio 6th Congressional District and I’ve already been involved with the Buckeye Firearms Association for many years...so what more could I do to lose more sleep?

Well...here is my story and what I’ve done and what I’ve helped others to do to help defeat Mr. Obama.

A few weeks ago I received a phone call from a local GOP guy saying they needed a “captain” for “Sportsmen for McCain” committee and was told it could be in name only. So I figured what the heck and let him just use my name...boy was I ever wrong about just “using” my name (more on that later).

As the local EVC, the NRA placed my name, phone number and e-mail address on the front cover of every NRA member magazine last month in the 6th congressional district (covering 13 counties). Since then my phone and e-mail have been going crazy with folks asking "who is best on my gun rights" or "who should I support in this race". I always do the research and let them know who the NRA and BFA have endorsed.

Now for the “name only” thing with the Sportsmen for McCain...I received a call about 4:30 one afternoon letting me know that a rally is being planned and that I should get on the ball and make some notifications...the rally was going to be held (the next morning at about 11:00a.m.!) at the Lock, Stock, and Barrel gun shop in New Boston, Ohio.

After working another 12 hour shift that night I made it to the rally - a little tired but more excited and pumped up than I thought I would be. Several ranking officers of the McCain campaign were there as well as folks retired from the Department of Wildlife and the local media. There I got my first interview with a reporter...went fairly well considering how tired I was. The article was published in the next day’s paper too.

Many folks in the area didn’t hear about the rally until it was already over, so they expressed their feelings to Lock, Stock, and Barrel owner Ralph Scott, stating that they wish he could hold another one. Mr. Scott did just that very thing, and of course a call to “Old Rick” didn’t hurt either. So I made some calls, sent some e-mails, and made more calls and on a Monday evening helped hold another Pro-2nd Amendment rally...same thing only different than the first.

More than 50 folks showed up...I met old friends and made new ones...local candidates for offices were there and it was cool that evening. Seems a good old fashioned hot dog will help chase away the chills. It was at this rally we all had some kind of interview with Mr. Fumio Matsuo, a journalist from Tokyo, Japan. Mr. Matsuo was in the U.S. doing research on Democracy and guns in America. Seems the Japanese are fascinated about American history and our legal use of firearms. No one in Japan is allowed to own or use firearms, but boy are they good with those real long knives.

Next on the agenda was a meeting at the local GOP headquarters. I thought it was just going to be typical session, but it was about to be a very impressive afternoon for me. Seems there were three reporters from London, England in town looking for interviews on the upcoming presidential election. Topics were to range from the economy, to general topics and to firearm ownership...and of course that’s where I came in.

I was given the chance for the interview with Sir Trevor McDonald (yep...a real British knight) his cameraman Dave and his assistant Claire. American history played a major role in our discussion of firearms...like back when the American Revolution started! Sir Trevor asked many different questions about American history, firearm owners and “gun registration!” When the latter topic came up I really came to the front against it...seems Sir Trevor couldn’t understand why, so I filled him. Think back before WWII and what Hitler had done to all the gun owners in Germany...he had registered all the gun owners in Germany so when it came time to take over he already had a list of all the gun owners and guns so he could just confiscate them all without any troubles at all. Then he began to see my point.

I informed Sir Trevor that Mr. Obama doesn’t like guns and apparently gun owners and wants to do away with gun ownership and our right to concealed carry of a handgun. Make no bones about it...Mr. Obama is anti-gun from the get-go and will stop at nothing to get our guns either through confiscation or by appointing Supreme Court Justices that are as or more liberal than himself. Another interview under my belt...hey I’m beginning to get good at this!

Fundraisers!! Every politician has (and needs) them and State Senator Tom Niehaus, a Buckeye Firearms Association endorsee, is no exception. So last Wednesday my lovely wife and I attended a fundraiser for Senator Niehaus and rubbed elbows with OUR state senator from the 14th district. Tom is a really down to earth kind of guy...ready to listen and also ready to inform you of what is going on in Ohio’s senate. He will be there ready to help should you need him. Great guy Tom!

Now about the NRA-ILA Election Volunteer Coordinator scoring system. My grassroots coordinator in Fairfax, Va. has some special secret scoring system whereby she computes points by things that I do. She is in charge of 12 different states which also has EVC’s for each congressional district...some how she figured that I was given points that put me number 13 in the standings of these 12 different states. That right there will tell you how active I’ve been lately! The trips to the local GOP office, the interviews, the long distance calls, the over minutes on my cell, letters, e-mails and all the other little things I’ve done lately seems overwhelming at times.

I never forget my objective...”Make sure NObama is NOT elected to the presidency”. The battle will continue until the last vote is counted and Senator McCain is declared “victorious” and sworn in as President of the United States of America.

I hope some of my actions, decisions, and ideas have helped make you a better volunteer! We need your help to reach the objective...contact your local GOP office, your NRA-ILA Election Volunteer Coordinator, a BFA Leader, who can be reached through our website... http://buckeyefirearms.org/ or the NRA website...
http://www.nrapvf.org/ , look at their endorsements and vote accordingly.

I strongly encourage and challenge each and every one of you to do something good for the cause. Remember, we are here for just a short time and we are planning our children’s future. Get out and vote!

Rick Jones is an NRA-ILA EVC for the Ohio 6th Congressional District, a Leader with Buckeye Firearms Association, county captain for “Sportsmen for McCain”, NRA Life/Endowment member and all around good ol' boy.